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This topic, 10 Warning Signs You Have Too Much Stuff was inspired by a desperate call I received a few weeks ago from a woman who finally realized the clutter was a real issue in her life and that she had been denying it, even ignoring it until…
One night she drove up to her home, parked in the driveway because there was too much stuff in her garage to park her car.
As she got out of the car, she felt a lump in her throat because she realized she dreaded coming home, walking into the house to see a mess everywhere. Piles of paper, clothing, shoes, and books. She knew she would have to step over some of the stuff just to enter.
Disrupting The Crazy Cycle
As difficult as it was for her to pick up that phone to call me, she was finally ready to admit she needed to do something about it, to disrupt the crazy cycle of dealing with too much stuff. But first, she had to admit how clutter and too much stuff had been affecting her physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Here’s what she discovered on our call:
She was ashamed of how her messy house looked and how it made her and her family feel. It was so overwhelming. She didn’t know where to start, so she didn’t! The clutter had been growing worse and worse for the past year.
- She was embarrassed and said she rarely invited people over and nor did her kids because they didn’t want to be judged. If she wanted to meet with her friends, it was always at a coffee shop or a restaurant. She said how much she missed having people in her house
- She felt disorganized on every level and could never find what she needed when she needed it. That led to many family arguments because they were always misplacing things like keys, the remote, phones, and glasses. After all, there were no specific homes for each of those items.
- She felt frustrated because every time someone wanted to sit down, they’d have to move stuff off of a chair or the sofa. If she was trying to cook, she would have to move things off the counter to create some workspace.
- She felt wasteful for buying things they already had. When she couldn’t find something, she would quickly replace it only to find out later on.
- She felt unproductive, wasting so much time looking for stuff, straightening piles, and trying to find clothing to wear in the closet. She was stressed out because of the amount of time and effort that was being wasted.
- She was exhausted, tired of trying to find stuff, trying to organize too much stuff, then trying to clean it. She was no longer motivated to even try keeping up with it, so things just got worse and worse.
- She was stuck. Her closets and her drawers were disgusting. She tried to declutter and would find things she didn’t remember she even had, but interestingly, she kept buying more.
- SHE MADE THE DECISION TO DECLUTTER to get her life back.
The answer was NOT to buy more plastic bins.
The answer was NOT to rent a storage unit for all of the extra stuff.
THE ANSWER WAS:
· To acknowledge she had way too much stuff.
· To admit the impact it was having on her life and her family.
To create a decluttering master plan, a timeline, a team of helpers, and someone to hold her accountable.
She also realized she needed help, making that call was the first big step she took to disrupt the crazy cycle of owning too much stuff.
Her vulnerability is admirable. She tried to deny it for a long time until she reached that breaking point. Enough is enough!
Perhaps you, too, can identify with some of these concerns about the impact too much stuff is having on your life. She was lucky to have received a wake-up call. Hopefully, this list will act as a wake-up call to you as well.
10 warning signs you might have too much stuff
So you can start reducing your possessions by decluttering and so you can embrace minimalism, that simpler life with less stuff and more meaning.
- You can’t find what you want when you want it because there’s not enough space for all of your stuff.
- You find stuff you don’t remember you even had and perhaps it’s never been used.
- You don’t have any idea where to start because there’s just so much stuff.
- You’re embarrassed and ashamed of the amount of clutter you have in your home.
- You’re frustrated because you never seem to get caught up with the cleaning, and organizing all that stuff. You’re tired of it!
- You have no idea what’s inside of those storage bins and boxes in the basement, attic, and garage, because you haven’t opened them and 10 years.
- You never seem to have enough space for all of your stuff, so you rent a storage unit to store it.
- You have stuff you never use, stuff you don’t like or don’t fit, stuff you’ve inherited or been gifted, but you don’t want or need any of it.
- You can’t decide what to wear because your closet is so full of things that don’t fit and no longer suit your lifestyle.
- Your piles of paperwork, clothing, junk mail, magazines, coupons, and flyers just keep getting higher and higher.
If any of these statements resonate with you, it’s likely you have too much stress and should consider decluttering it one closet, one shelf, one drawer at a time.
If you need help, I do offer a very limited number of coaching clients. If interested, email me at [email protected] so we can set up a call to discuss your needs.
If you would like to purchase a copy of my new workbook, Rita’s minimalist essentials, it’s now available on Amazon for just $ 19.99.
What you can expect to get in my 60-page decluttering workbook and companion:
- A decluttering decision-making process that will help you know how to decide what to keep or let go of.
- A 5-step guide that will show you how to let go of sentimental clutter.
- Room by room, decluttering checklists.
- A fun closet clean-out challenge.
- A 30-day minimalist decluttering challenge.
- A progress tracker that will hold you accountable.
- My favorite decluttering methods that really work.
- 100 places to donate your stuff.
Buy one for yourself and give one as a gift to your family or friends who might benefit by learning how to get started, and stay motivated on their decluttering journey so they can cross the finish line.
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